“Dad. That thing has got to be over twenty years old. It’s going to break eventually, and it did. It’s not fair to Mom to not have a working dishwasher.”
“Why are you always on her side?”
“This isn’t a side. I’m just telling you the dishwasher is broken and the household itself could benefit from a new one.”
Miguel didn’t move from the recliner. If the dishwasher was going to be replaced or fixed, it wasn’t happening today. Instead, he shook his head. “You don’t know what she says to me. You don’t know because you aren’t here. Do you know the last time she let me share the bed with her? I bought that bed. I bought this house. I did that, and she won’t let me sleep in the bed with her.”
Nataliedidknow because this had been going on for years. She had more knowledge about what was going on (or not going on) in their bedroom than she ever wished to be privy to. It wasn’t as simple as picking one single villain who was the root cause of the family’s problems, because both her parents were equally disrespectful and rude to one another. Whatever started this war had never been clear to her. Both parents showed their love for each of their daughters, but they couldn’t bring themselves to show anything resembling love to each other. Instead of talking to each other or a therapist or doing anything to change the situation, they’d rather complain about each other to whatever family member would listen to them.
“You’re going to come out to the kitchen for Abuelita’s party, right? The rest of the family is going to be here too and it’s weird when you stay in the garage, Dad.”
“I bought this house, and I don’t even get to enjoy it. Your mom is so mean to me. What did I do in life to deserve such a mean wife? You and your sisters are my only joy, and you won’t come to visit me every day.”
“You can come into the house. You’re not stuck out here. If you guys can just not say anything mean to each other, then you won’t fight.”
Miguel plucked at the fibers of his blanket. “She wants me to be miserable.”
“You just sit out here, and you don’t fix the dishwasher. What are you good for?” her mother said as she entered the garage to grab a roll of paper towels from a shelf.
“Mom, stop.”
“You don’t know how to use the dishwasher.”
“Oh, so I cook and I clean for you and my family all these years and I don’t know how to use the things in my own home? You just want to punish me.”
“If I can’t use my bed, then you don’t need to use a dishwasher. You’ve already taken everything else, including my soul.”
“You’ve takenmysoul! Do you think I want to be with you?” her mother yelled.
“I wish I never saw you at that party,” her father spat out. “You’re a mean, ugly woman, the worst wife.”
Thankfully, Enrique appeared, helping Natalie separate her parents once again, her mother storming from the garage while spitting further insults. How her parents had gone from being in love to this was the biggest mystery of all.
“Miguel,” Enrique said. “Come on. Everyone’s here for the party. This is a celebration. Let us have peace for this afternoon. You can do that at least.”
Her father stood, making his way toward the door. “Did you know, Rico, she doesn’t even let me share the bed? I am so unhappy.”
“We’re going to have some good food and right now we’ll try to be happy. Okay?” Enrique patted his brother on the shoulder before they all entered the kitchen. By keeping each parent occupied with other things and conversations, the party was able to proceed and was festive for the most part. Halfway through the party, her father shuffled back to the garage and disappeared again. They kept trying but for some reason he always chose to exclude himself.
“Natalie,” Enrique said at one point. “I want to talk to you about the trailer.”
“What trailer?” she responded while eating a slice of tres leches cake.
“For you to use at the Christmas farm. I got one for a really good price, but we need to tow it there.”
At this point she was completely confused. “We’re using a trailer? What kind of trailer? Why aren’t we using a regular food truck or something?” If Natalie was going to do this, she hoped for something cute, not any old thing her uncle found for a good deal.
“It’s one of those trailers they carry the horses in.”
“What? We’re using a damn horse trailer?” This whole plan was becoming worse and worse. She was going to be working on a Christmas tree farm in the cold with a man who was currently ignoring her.Andshe had to do it from a horse trailer? Natalie wasn’t sure if a Pony Expresso partnership was worth this indignity.
“It’s not what you think. It’s been repurposed and outfitted inside so it’s food-service ready. It’s cute. You’ll like it. And it was a lot cheaper than a food truck. Plus, you don’t need all that room.”
“Is it white and does it look like a horse trailer?”
“Why does that matter? If you want to be an owner, you’ll make it work.”
Natalie considered joining her father in garage purgatory because, apparently, that’s where one went when they were unhappy with what life had dealt them. Instead, she strengthened her resolve. “Fine. I’ll figure it out.” She would because she had to.
